GOP platform pushes looser D.C. gun laws

by Matthew Kwiecinski

The District’s gun control laws and statehood campaign made their way onto a national stage Tuesday with the release of the 2012 Republican Party Platform.

The platform included a D.C.-specific section that calls for looser rules on gun ownership in a city it said was susceptible to terrorism.

It also opposed D.C. statehood outright – a point of contention for Mayor Vincent Gray, a Democrat who has fought for the city to become the 51st state throughout his term.

Doxie McCoy, a spokeswoman for Gray’s office, took issue with the gun control and statehood clauses. She praised the city’s tight rules on gun control and said “more guns do not equal safer communities.”

“We believe it’s hypocritical that the party that supposedly stands for states’ rights would oppose the rights of District of Columbia residents to pass and preserve our own laws,” she added.

D.C.’s mayors must receive Congressional approval to spend local tax dollars – a procedure city government officials have criticized.